The Boy Stuck in Time
by MynameisWHAT
Summary: My name is Bella Swan, and I'm a time traveler". For reasons beyond her comprehension and control, Bella Swan travels through time. She is a nomad of the past and present, and in this she is alone. Save the boy with gold eyes, the boy stuck in time. E/B.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- It aint mine!

Between the In Between

_Playlist- Notion by Kings of Leon_

I stepped out onto the curb, breathing in. The air was wet, something I was used to. Today, I reveled in its moisture. It was water swimming inside of me, bathing me from within. I didn't feel dirty, but I felt aged and parched. Yet there was an entirely different side, and that side felt too young to be carrying a life so weighted.

I sat down on the curb, hoisting my sagging backpack up on my shoulders. The straps, covered in years of grime and soot, hung limply over my shoulders, all of their padding broken down and disintegrated. I shrugged under them, but their pull remained heavy and uncomfortable.

My name is Bella Swan, and I'm a time traveler. I live by myself in the back of an old Match Factory on the outskirts of Forks Washington. I came across the abandoned factory when I was traveling back from a visit to my great grandmothers childhood, who grew up in Forks along with all the other members of my family on my fathers side. The massive warehouse burned down in 1953, ironically. It was forgotten, like me, and we fit each other as two pieces of a puzzle might correspond to each others curving edges. No matter where I travel to, I always return to it's crumbling brick walls.

For all of those who blanched at the word time traveler, I apologize for the shock. No, that doesn't mean what I say isn't true. Contrary to popular belief and natural law, I, on occasion, find myself displaced in time for reasons I've yet to understand. I only travel to the past, at least so far. Where and when is subject to the greater power which renders me unable to maintain a constant company in the present. I used to hate the lack of control. I gave up such exhausting emotions a while ago.

I scuffed my boot against the asphalt, waiting for the familiar tingling in my spine to signal my return to the factory. I'd been wandering through the backwoods of North Carolina for the past five hours, waiting for time. I was always waiting for time, waiting but never waited for. No one was expecting me on the other end, back in the present. It had been years since I'd had someone to return to.

When I was five, my mother passed away from terminal breast cancer. I didn't understand; I still don't. I return to her often in time, watching her from a safe distance. Mostly I visit her during her final days, but ever once and a while I'm granted a stroll through the park behind her as she pushes my infant self in a stroller. These trips, above all else, I cherish.

Charlie, my father, passed away when I was seven. He was a police officer, and the murderer was just another aching soul. I feel no anger towards the man who pulled the trigger. I only feel pain. I've traveled to the scene of his death more times then I can count, and each time is like a knife to the gut. I see the wild desperation in that man's eyes, the empty hollow of his cheeks. It's like he's no longer a person, so spun out on synthetic relief, any drug to erase the pain of his own personal hell. Every time he pulls the trigger, I feel the shot in my own chest. Charlie had happiness; he died human. That man, the one who murdered him, had been dying for quite some time.

I ran my finger across the ground, the dirt on the pavement thick, leaving a trail where my finger traced. The woods surrounding the road hung over me like tall evergreen people. I felt like they were looking down at me; maybe in ridicule or protection. The shadows of their bodies cast strange shapes across the dirt and paved forest floor. My stomach was growling; it had been for the past two hours. I sighed heavily. I was bored.

To my left, I heard the faintest rustle in the bushes. My head snapped up, my muscles tensing, posing themselves for whatever would come next. My heart accelerated, the way it always did whenever fear and flight gripped me. I jumped to my feet, facing my body in the direction of the sound.

Just then, I felt my skin pricking, shivers of spiking electricity running up and down my spine. I wanted to sigh with sweet relief; whatever was coming for me was too late. But my eyes locked on a figure coming out of the bushes just as I was fading back into the present, and my heart dropped into my stomach.

He rounded out from behind one of the big firs a few yards away from me, his dark eyes intent upon me. The heavy shadows masked his features, but those unmistakable eyes shown trough the dark. Bright, burning gold eyes, the strangest shade of ocher. I'd seen them before, many, many times before. It wouldn't have meant anything if not for the fact that those exact eyes had visited me on numerous occasions, in numerous places, all of which were scattered throughout time. I found his gaze everywhere, in every decade, in every period and place. Those eyes, which belonged to a figure I'd only seen up close once, where the only constants in my constantly inconsistent life. No matter the time, the eyes remained unchanged, frozen in their state.

We never spoke; one of us always disappeared before the other had the chance. I called him the boy stuck in time. However fleeting our encounters were, he was the only other being in time I'd ever felt a connection to. It was because of him that I even entertained the idea that I might not be the only one.

He stepped away behind the trees just as I faded back into the present.

**Wonder who that was...**

**Bon jour! My name is WHAT, and that was my first fanfic you just read there. I'd first like to bestow my thanks upon you readers for opening up and taking your time to read this intro. This idea popped into my head a few days ago, and i sorta just rolled with it. i love writing, and i love reviews, so please please please let me know if this crazy idea is worth it. I'm hoping it is!**

**Muchas gracias mis amores!**

**MynameisWHAT**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- not mine!

About your past and my future

_Playlist- Heaven Forbid by The Fray_

I came crashing back on the hard cement floor with a resounding "Oof!" My head cracked on the stone, rebounding slightly. I groaned, lifting my throbbing head slightly to rub the ginger spot of harshest contact. I squinted through the lifting fog clouding my vision at the familiar concrete walls of the factory. After a few moments of gathering my returning senses, I pulled myself slowly up from the floor.

The Factory was massive; maybe twice the size of the average apartment complex. It was gutted on the inside like a fish, all vital organs and previous factory equipment aside from rusting iron press machines scrapped from inside its cement skeleton by the fire and the erosion of time. It reminded me of that one shoe factory in that move Jumangi, the one the boy's father owned. Scraps of sooty cardboard and ashen debris scattered the floor with a thick film of dust laid over everything like a woven blanket, moving as a whole when disturbed by the wind and my feet.

I brushed myself off, turning around a bit to figure where I was. It took a short second for me to assess my location in regards to the office, and I skirted furtively over metal and dust towards the stairs.

Hanging above the main machine room was a small, open-windowed office I presumed belonged to the factory manger. It remained the only place in the factory where wood had been saved from the licking flames and hadn't rotted completely. The desk sitting in the middle of the space still sported the nameplate "Mr. Harris". It was large, with an armoire, safe, bookshelf and fireplace. It was my home.

I climbed quickly up the stairs and into the room where I sought my only solace and rest. The smell of musk and ash greeted me like a homecoming.

I bent down, unlacing my worn brown hiking boots and kicking them off. Padding in my wool socks, I settled down on the lumpy mattress I'd found abandoned on the side of the road a mile down from the factory. I picked up the metal bar lying next to it and prodded the last dying embers in the fireplace. I sighed deeply.

I was seven when I first traveled back in time. It was Tuesday and I was walking home from the grocery store two blocks down the street. Charlie was trying to make spaghetti, and for all of my cooking knowledge even I knew it wasn't working out well. It took a great amount of careful convincing to persuade him to give me ten bucks so I could buy one of those oven bake pizzas without bruising his ego.

I look back on that day a lot and I've analyzed every part of it with critical scrutiny. Nothing I can think of seemed to lead to the displacement. Over the years, I've found that my mood can sometimes influence my time travel, and I've managed on some occasions to calm myself enough to postpone the transfer long enough to get to a secluded area before I fade. That first time, nothing could have set me off. One minute I was walking with the plastic bag in my hand, and then I was face down on the floor of my bedroom, two days earlier.

I remember sitting up, confused as I looked around at my room. The grocery bag lay next to me and the pizza box had a newly formed dent in its cardboard siding. I grabbed it and jumped up like nothing had happened. Then I heard someone coming up the stairs.

Panicking, I ran into my closet just as I came into the room and let my heavy backpack slide off of my shoulder. Through the crack, I watched myself trudge across the room and flop dramatically onto the bed with an over-exhausted sigh. I watched myself, repeating what I'd already done two days beforehand, captivated. It was like watching a movie, and I was the star on the screen.

Then I felt a strange tingling run up and down my spine. My vision blurred and blackened, and then I was on my back, sprawled across the cement in an alley behind the grocery store. The grocery bag remained clutched in my hand.

That was the first time of many times.

I rolled over on my side and poked the smoldering ashes again, glaring thoughtfully at the low flames. Ebbing flames, the strangest hue of gold.

I was eleven the first time I ever saw the boy with the golden eyes. I'd been traveling through time for four years by then, and I'd acquired a distasteful boredom of it. Charlie was already gone, and although I was technically living with my grandmother at the time, I was so in and out of the present I assumed she forgot my presence as much as I did hers. Eventually I resigned to bringing her peace and completely disappeared.

It was a cool August afternoon in Chicago around the 1950's, and I'd been roaming around the streets of the more prestigious heights where all the elegant brick houses sat up on their foundations, their majestic architecture and grandeur compensating for their small sheets of green yard and the thin strips of grass lain between them. The sun was high but a good breeze ran through the air and softened the harshest rays.

I walked up the sidewalk, kicking loose bits of grainy gravel with the same and frequent nothings floating around in my head. I kept my eyes to the ground and only looked up when was necessary in an effort to be invisible to my surroundings. It was when I had to cross the street that I lifted my gaze from the pavement and saw him.

He stood on the other side of the street, hands in his pockets and legs spaced even and casually as he stared up at the house in front of him. It looked like all the houses around it, large and Colonial and magnificent. He was looking up at it with a pensive, open face, like he'd just tasted something he'd once been familiar with and was reacquiring its flavor with a more developed sense. It was his curious expression that pulled my gaze to him, and I let myself stare for a moment.

He was tall, lean but strong like the blade of a sword. He wore a simple white shirt and blue jeans like all the other boys, but his hair displaced itself in the style of the current time period. Unlike the well oiled and delicately combed do's of most men his age, his hair stood on end, angry and unruly tufts of an unusual copper that, when hit by the sunlight, resembled wild flames blowing in the wind.

A gust of wind hit me, and my hair flew up and around my face. I watched as his thoughtful expression morphed with surprise, and he dropped his chin, staring without sight ahead of him. A slow smile spread across his face, and he turned his stare upon me.

I'd never seen a face so beautiful. Like an angel- maybe lovelier. His bright gold eyes stared directly into mine with a warmth I'd never encountered. I felt it seep to every part of my body and engulf my heart in a vice strong enough it knocked the breath right out of me. I gasped, desperate for air. He smiled wider, and I think he might have chuckled. I stood on the corner, frozen.

His smile softened to a closed lip smirk, and he gave his head a soft shake before turning away and off down the street. I watched him go, mesmerized, before falling back into the present a few minutes later.

I often think about that day and about our exchange. The way his eyes bore into mine and brought that warmth to all corners within me. He smiled like we were old friends, like he knew me. Perhaps a future me had visited him even farther in the past. Perhaps he just felt like smiling.

I blinked, dislodging myself from the trance of my memory. The flames had just about died, and I grabbed one of the logs beside me and slung it onto the dwindling fire. I rolled back on the bed and closed my eyes, seeking the escape of sleep. Behind my lids, his face was all I saw.

**Second Chapter! Hope it brought more than the first. I won't know unless i get feedback, so please please review and let me know if it's worth the time! You're opinion feeds the machine!**

**Love, love, love,**

**MynameisWHAT**


	3. Chapter 3

To be known

_Playlist- Everything's Magic by Angels & Airwaves_

I stood up against the wall of the substation and tried with admittedly little effort to be invisible to the passing people. I'd meet a person's curious gaze and I wouldn't look down the way one was expected to when catching someone in the act of staring. By all means, let them look, I would too. I wasn't a common sight, what with me being nearly naked in only a Rainbow Bright nightgown and dripping beige paint. I had a nasty bruise on my knee from tripping over the ladder I'd knocked down, the ladder that the paint bucket had been resting on top of. I dared not lift my hand to the spot on my head the bucket had made contact with. It throbbed enough for me to know the bump forming under my scalp would smart good in the morning, or whatever time of day it would be when I would return to my bed in the warehouse.

Ah, my bed. I'd only been asleep for maybe twenty minutes when I fell through the mattress and into the apartment that, judging by the tarp, buckets, ladder, and the thick smell of paint fumes, was being painted. Disoriented and wearing nothing but my Rainbow Bright nightgown I'd gotten when I was six, I managed to stand up too fast, get dizzy, collide with a ladder and send it toppling over. The paint bucket resting precariously atop it landed on my head, covering me in thick beige paint. Blind and dripping, I stumbled through the maze of obstacles and managed to unlock one of the windows. My luck, I was five stories up. Thank god for the man who invented fire escapes.

An hour later, I was walking through the streets of Manhattan at nine at night. A flashing billboard above my head told me it was Tuesday March 13th, 2003. I shivered in the freezing morning air and sought out the warmth and cover of the nearest substation. Against the cement wall, I stood and waited to be taken away.

"Mommy," I heard a little girl across the way say, "Look, look at the girl!"

I snapped my head towards her. She stood a few feet away, tugging urgently on her mother's skirt with her chubby finger pointed at me. The mother, who was reading the newspaper, looked down at her daughter.

"Sarah, it's not polite to point," she chided, dropping down to the little girl's level and pulling her hand down. But she caught sight of me, widened her eyes in surprise, and quickly turned away. I stared back at her, unashamed.

I'd gotten used to it. Everyone else would just have to get used to it too.

I sagged to the floor, tired. My eyes closed on their own accord, and I let my head rest against my knees. The sounds of frantic people and rushing train cars filled the empty space in my head, and I was soon fast asleep.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was at least four hours later. A stout and chubby police man stood over me, his blinding flashlight poised on my face. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes, squinting against the glare.

"Morning honey," He spat, "Have a nice nap?"

"Lovely," I grumbled thickly. I began to lift myself, and the man caught my arm and yanked me to my feet, keeping a painfully tight grip on me.

"Not so fast young lady," He warned, shaking me slightly, "You're not going anywhere. Are you aware of what time it is?"

"Not in the least _officer,_" I leered, "And I could care less."

I turned away from him and tried to pull my arm free of his grasp. His hold tightened, and for the first time I began to feel afraid. He held his flashlight high above his head, still shining it down on my face.

"It is precisely 3:27 a.m., and this section of the station is closed for another two hours. Mind telling me what you're doing here after hours?"

"Yes, I do," I struggled to break free, "Please let go of me."

"Not a chance, little miss, you're coming with me."

I looked up at the man for the first time in fear. I'd been to jail before, and that was enough for me. He smirked, taking in my sudden terror, and began pulling me away from the wall. I panicked, and did the only thing I could think of.

I kicked him as hard as I could in the groin.

With a horrific yelp of pain, the man was on the floor, curled in on himself and trembling. Tears began to stream down his face as he whined and moaned. I stood there in horror for a moment before I took off down the empty corridor.

"Come" wheeze, "Back here!"

I didn't turn around as I sprinted aimlessly through the dim tunnel, my arms pumping and heart racing. When I saw another flashlight begin to brighten ahead of me, I dashed around the corner and down another empty corridor. The sound of following footsteps grew louder, and I rounded yet another corner. Ahead, I could see two more flashlights.

I was trapped.

"Shit!" I whispered, turning around and around in search of a way out. Nothing.

"She's down here!" I heard a voice call into the dark, and the two flashlights began to run towards me. My heart stopped and I froze in fear. I was done.

"What the-oof!" A loud crack and both flashlights fell to the floor with low thuds. Every muscles in my body tensed as a tall figure began to walk with surprising speed and fluidity towards me.

He barely made it underneath the fluorescent light when I let out a breath of relief. "It's you."

His gold eyes widened in surprise. I couldn't help but smile as the insuppressible relief washed me over. He wouldn't hurt me.

"Hey! You two!"

Both our heads snapped back in the direction of the voice. At the end of the corridor, another flashlight hovered in the air. I turned back to him, asking with my eyes. He frowned at me for a moment, and something like resolve formed in his gaze. He grabbed my hand quickly and took off in a run, dragging me after him down the corridor and into the dark.

His hand was bitterly cold.

We ran past the two unconscious guards, and he let go of my hand briefly to reach down and grab one of the discarded flashlights. I heard the approaching guards, their shuffling feet and huffing as they screamed at us to stop. He snapped back up and grabbed my wrist again, running so fast it was all I could do not to fall over myself as I stumbled behind him.

We skirted through empty corridors, running from the distant footsteps and loud curses our pursuers emitted into the dark. My bare feet slapped the hard cement floor, but he made no sound. I was sprinting as fast as I could, but he moved as if he were walking. Nothing in the way his body moved hinted at any exertion.

As we rounded another corner, a light shone ahead, and he shoved me against the wall quick enough to avoid its glare as it flickered towards us.

"Who's there?" A voice called out, "Is that you Bill?"

I looked up at his face, searching in the dim light for any sign of stress on his glorious features. Would he respond?

He hesitated a moment, thinking, when he quickly remembered the flashlight in his hand and flicked it on, poising it towards the shrouded man ahead. He cleared his throat and spoke in a deep, false voice.

"Yeah Tom, it's me. Just looking for the girl. I think she took off that way."

With that, he flickered the beam of his light to his side in the opposite direction. The flashlight ahead turned to where he pointed, and nodded slightly.

"Alright Bill, thanks."

With that, the second light took off down the other corridor. We stood there, listing as the footsteps faded into the silence. After a moment, I relaxed against the wall.

"Thanks," I whispered as he clicked off the flashlight and shoved it in his pocket. He nodded, not meeting my gaze.

"How'd you know?"

He looked up, confused.

"What?"

"How'd you know I was here? How'd you know where to find me?"

He stared at me for a moment, and I quickly became lost in his glorious eyes. He was so close, and I was unable to ignore it any longer. The sweet, foreign scent rolling off of him, the cold of his body chilling my own exposed skin. I was overcome by something, and my heart began to race anew.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

His voice. I'd heard it before, but this time was different. No other sounds could be heard, nothing to obstruct it. It rang clear in the silence. It was magnificent, unlike anything I'd ever heard. Like music spoken.

"But, but we know each other. You knew I'd be here, and you knew I'd be in trouble. You must have-"

"Please Bella you're under the wrong impression-"

"You know my name!"

Just then a jolt of strong electricity ran up my spine, gripping ever never in my body. His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but I was gone before he had the chance to speak.

"Damn it!" I yelled as I collide with the floor in the middle of my room. I jumped to my feet, screaming.

"Take me back!" I screamed at the space above my head. I dropped to the floor again, slamming my fists against the wood.

"Take me back, damn it! He knew me! He fucking knew me!"

I screamed at the floor, tears streaming down my cheeks. My fists pounded the cold ground weakly, and I collapsed with a sob.

"He knew my name," I whimpered, "_He knew me._"

**Chapter Three! Wow, I actually have three chapters...cool! Most of the introduction stuff's out of the way now, which means we can really get the ball rolling. I think by now we all know who the boy stuck in time is and exactly why he is frozen in such a state. But there's alot more to be revealed, and if you guys review i'll make sure to divulge all that's to come. But i really do gather motivation from reviews and feedback, and the less i get, the less I feel inspired and the more i begin to doubt if this story's even worth it. I don't want to sound greedy and ungrateful towards those who have given input (you guys are amazing!), but I'm not gonna lie and say I wouldn't like a little more. So if you want me to keep going, please let me know!**

**Much love,**

**MynameisWHAT**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: None is mine

Thank you, know you

_Playlist- Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls_

_Hard to Handle by Black Crows (Beginning tid-bit) _

"_Baby here I am, I'm the man on the seen. I can give you what you want but you gotta come home with me."_

I swayed, singing to the empty space around me. The radio was turned up full blast, and I brushed the broom back and forth in time with the song. Small wisps of dust circled around my dancing feet. I stopped dramatically and pulled the tip of the handle to my lips.

_"__Hey little thing let me light your candle cause mama I'm sure hard to handle, now, gets around."_

It was Sunday, which meant it was cleaning day at the factory. Every Sunday morning I part took in the only routine I kept in my life and moped, swept, and aired out the factory. It was all part of this silly idea I had about maintaining a clean house and living a somewhat normal lifestyle. I valued good habits, and since I so often had to resort to some not-so-good ones in order to survive my sojourns through time, I figured Sunday cleanup was a step towards redemption.

Today, I had few more things on my to-do list. I was getting very short on food supplies and I'd used the last of my toothpaste the night before. I had a bit of shampoo left, but more would be needed soon. Once house cleaning was finished I had to take a trip into town to do some shopping.

I actually preferred to do my shopping in another realm of time for relatively understandable reasons. One, no one knew or recognized me when I was time traveling. I could get all of my errands done hassle free without having to worry about the possibility of being noticed or followed by anyone. Shopping in Forks meant running the risk of becoming familiar and peeking interest. I dreaded the idea of someone becoming curious and investigating. If they ever found out about the factory, I would surely be chased out and would loose the only home I had left. The mere thought was enough to raise panic in my throat. Two, it was harder to shoplift in Forks.

Yes, I had no money so I had to steal. Thank goodness for my redeeming Sunday rituals, right?

Unfortunately for me, I hadn't time traveled in almost a week, about as long as it had taken for me to get the beige paint out of my hair. That had been the last time I'd traveled, and I'd begun to miss it for only one reason.

I wanted to see the boy with the gold eyes again.

After my unwanted return to the present that night he'd saved me and the horrific meltdown I'd had because of it, I'd been careful not to think too much about him and the fact that he obviously knew me more than I'd been led to believe. Despite all my efforts, he remained a constant presence throughout my thoughts, always standing on the periphery of my subconscious where I dared not touch him for fear of another unexpected fit of hysterics. So I pointedly kept busy around the factory, organizing and reorganizing empty boxes and pieces of scrap metal. I would go out during the day and hike the mountains, gather wood for the fires, take excessive cold baths using the old tubs in the back of the factory where they used to pour the wax for the match paper. I read a lot.

I still missed him.

I propped the broom against a nearby machine after I'd swept up the massive pile of dust, the last of many I'd made throughout the morning. I sat down on a tipped over crate and rested my chin on my hand, admiring my work. To anyone else, it probably looked exactly the same as it had when I started. To me, it shone anew.

Across the room, a loud clamor arose as a frantic bird rushed in through one of the broken glass panes of a window, quickly followed by a pursuing cat. I watched as the mangy stray bounded over crates and machines, chasing the panic of flapping feathers before leaping gracefully up in the air to snatch it's prey in it's paws. As quick as it was up, it fell to the ground, wrestling with the bird. It didn't waste time playing with it and in a rather business fashion snapped its neck.

"Bravo," I called to the cat, "Very civil of you. I'm sure he didn't feel a thing."

The cat looked up, then grabbed the bird around the neck between its teeth and dragged it away behind the machines. I smirked and saluted the hunter. Hauling myself up from my sea, I set to gathering my own foraging supplies in preparation for the human hunt.

An hour later, I was walking down the side of the road on my way to the nearest convenience store just outside of Forks. It didn't have much in the way of groceries, but I could suffice with a loaf of bread, peanut butter and some canned peaches for the time being. Right now, toiletries were of the most concern.

It was Forks, so naturally the weather was cold overcast. I zipped my sweatshirt and fastened all the buttons of my cargo jacket, but I could still feel the bitter winds penetrate the fabric and chill my skin. The toes of my boots were permanently wet, and my wool socks only helped to warm the water. I wore leggings under my very worn jeans, but it helped as much as it could. I would never be used to the cold. Ever.

There was one thing I liked about Forks, and that was the landscape. I'd never come across greener, thicker forests. The sky, though constantly gray, was a huge vast sea that swallowed the soul of the person who dared stare up into it too long. It made me feel lonely, but the sensation proved so encompassing that I almost felt whole in my isolation. The strong emotion was a welcome reminder that, degeneration of my past and present aside, I was still very much human.

And then with a shocking sensation up my spine, I very much wasn't.

I dropped out of the air and collided roughly with a thick tree branch, grasping it blindly before I could fall any farther. I coiled my whole body around the branch, gasping for breath. I opened my eyes slowly, afraid to see how high up I was.

My cheek pressed against the mossy wood, and to my side I observed the large mass of surrounding branches jutting out around me at all sides, covered in tiny evergreen needles. A Douglas Fir.

Firs were tall. With sickening dread, I turned my head and looked down. My heart stopped, and I sucked in a sharp, painful breath.

I was at least two hundred and fifty feet from the ground.

As suddenly as my heart had stopped it broke into a race, flooding into my throat and deafening me to anything but its pulse behind my ears. My body began to shake, threatening to break my hold on the branch I was clutching. I pulled my face up and pressed my cheek to the wood again as I struggled for breath. Closing my eyes, I began to cry.

I lay there, suspended and shaking, and waited for time.

I don't know how long I lay there, suspended hundreds of feet above the ground, but after a while my heart quieted and my breathing slowed. Terror turned to numbness, and then to exhaustion. My muscles loosened, and I slumped atop the branch, letting myself dangle. Without realizing the danger I was putting myself into, I drifted into sleep.

It was the crack that woke me. A horrible groaning of rotten wood as it splintered up through the limb, slowly splitting the wood beneath me. I pulled my face up, disoriented, and watched with blurry eyes as the fissure ran the length of the branch. Turning my head, I watched the base of the branch begin to pull away from the trunk. Before I could panic, I was falling.

Screaming with terror, I plummeted towards the ground, the falling branch ahead of me. It collided with a few lower branches on its way down, rebounding back up to hit me. Soon, I found myself bouncing back and forth between the branches too, hitting them with the painful force of my increasing speed as I plunged towards the ground. In the instant that my mind was cleared of horror and my eyes clean of tears, I stared down and watched with a strange calm as I prepared to die. In that instant, I think I actually smiled.

A blur to my side, and I was suddenly sailing to my right as a large object crashed into me, knocking all breath from me. I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist, pulling me close. With sudden abruptness, we stopped, and my whole body jerked with the force of the whiplash. I snapped back, more than dizzy.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as my forehead collide with his chest, rebounding. He didn't even flinch. He was harder than stone.

My vision blurred and blackened for a moment, but as my sight slowly came back to me I found myself staring up, disoriented, at his face, the face of the boy I couldn't stop thinking about. The boy with the bright golden eyes, and through those eyes he was looking back at me with fierce attention and concern.

"Wha-" I sighed, confused.

"Are you alright?" He interrupted, focusing intently on me. I tried to answer, but my breath caught in my throat. He looked me over once, and repeated his question.

"Uhhh," I stammered, overwhelmed. He frowned slightly, waiting.

"Y-yeah," I finally managed, "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Thank you. For, uh, for um-"

I turned my head and looked down over my shoulder. Beneath my dangling feet, the forest floor sat a fifty feet below. I frowned, unable to comprehend what exactly had just happened.

"You're welcome." He concluded. I looked back up to him.

"How? How did you know?"

His expression froze, and I knew he hadn't considered this part. Honestly, I didn't know if there could be any given explanation for what he'd just done, and the gravity of the present state we were in hadn't fully sunk in yet. I hung there, dangling above the ground with his arm pressing me firmly and securely to him, waiting for him to speak.

"I-" He cut off, his voice sticking in his throat, "I just…knew."

I nodded, dropping my chin as I contemplated his answer. I looked up again before I spoke.

"And how were you able to get up here fast enough to catch me?"

Another question he hadn't thought to form an answer for. I scrutinized him with a calm curiosity as he struggle to speak.

"I just…was?"

I nodded again, and after a moment sighed.

"Well then," I said, looking down, "Care to put me down? I'd like to stand on the ground again."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but after a moment he nodded, and said, "Do you mind if I put you on my back? I, I kind of need both my hands."

I shook my head and replied, "Nope." He nodded tightly and with surprising ease slung me over onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to be gentle but gripping strong enough to keep me from falling off. He paused a moment to check that I was secure and then looked down, contemplating. I did the same, innocently curious as to how this would be done.

He hesitated, his hands resting on a branch at either side of him with his feet planted on one thick branch beneath him. After a moment, he sighed in what sounded like resignation to something, and jumped. My heart stopped.

But we didn't hit the ground. Instead, just as suddenly as I found us falling through the air again, we were moving through the trees as he swung from branch to branch like a trapeze artist. Crossing from branch to branch, tree to tree, we slowly made our way down till we reached the end of the branches and he jumped swiftly and silently to the ground. Once on the floor, he pulled me gently from his back and set me on my feet. Stable and grounded, I stared up at him in awe.

"Thank you." I breathed in amazement, and smiled. He stared at me for a moment, and nodded. My face fell as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" I cried, reaching out and grabbing his arm urgently. He turned back in surprise, and his arm tensed at my touch. Still, I didn't dare let go.

"What?" He asked, confusing and anxiety in his voice. I stammered for a moment, my voice stuck. Finally, I managed to find the words I was looking for.

"You know my name," I stated, not needing confirmation. His brows rose, but he managed a nod. I smiled slightly and continued.

"I need to know who you are. What's your name?"

His face froze. I stood there, clinging to his arm, desperate and anxious.

"Edward."

Edward. I nodded slowly, and relinquished his arm. He hesitated for a moment, then turned quickly to leave. I watched before realization struck me.

"Wait!" I called again, and when he turned I smiled sheepishly. He stared at me expectantly, and I blushed.

"What's the date?"

For the first time, he didn't seem startled by my question. He knew what I was asking.

"Thursday," He said, smirking slightly, "Two days ago."

I smiled wider and laughed, nodding. He smiled back, and with a quick shake of his head, turned and disappeared into the woods.

_Thank you, Edward._

**Done! Well, whadya think? Longest chapter so far, but it's still kinda short. I'm still introducing everything and setting everything up cause it's kind of a complex idea and it takes a bit of getting into. But i'm hoping it's worth the time and i won't know unless you tell me, so please, please let me know if you're still liking it! Can't thank you enough for all your support!**

**Mucho Love,**

**MynameisWHAT **


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